I wear a full mask but I don't wear gloves

I have been told that I the parts gets caught in the glove it can pull the skin from your hand

Please Wear a mask or have a vented buffing system.

Every form of Rouge or Tripoli is caustic to breath.
Stay away from Red, Period.
Brown is good for cutting.
Green Zam is good for fine Polishing.

My humble opinion using this stuff for 45 years.

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Ohhhhh ... Damn! I knew this stuff gets everywhere but had no idea it was bad to breathe.. So do it outside? I need to find a base to mount my wheel.

And yeah -- ditch the gloves for sure and any loose clothing.

I am lucky enough to have access to two industrial polishing heads. One is set to run pretty slow and is great for plastics.

agreed, Leather is a must or a really nice tight fitting golf/racing type glove. Something that allows dexterity but keeps you safe.

Also, put a piece of scrap cardboard behind the wheel to catch compound. Do this in the garage also or a place you are fin with the clay and dust going all over.

The wheel from Harbor Freight bogs down sometimes but works OK.

Rule number one:
Don't be a numb nuts and try to "buff" something with the grinding wheel. I'm pretty sure that somebody on here said that sparks were flying when he tried to buff his lockdown bar, lol.

Do you guys clean (varsol, then rinse the piece in water, dry) and wax your polished metals afterwards?

depends on the piece. Bigger stuff, yes.

++ for a great thread. I don't have a buffing wheel but would like to get one some day. I basically didn't know squat about buffing wheels up to now, other than you would flip it on and push something against it to shine it up Now I will be much more educated.

Normally, you don't wear gloves with stationary power tools, but I just asked our new safety guy at work for the "OSHA" answer, and he says you can wear gloves with a buffer as long as it is pole mounted (not bench mounted) and no guards are in place.

Respirator and full face shield for sure, he says.

Why does pole mounted vs bench mounted make a difference?

Yup, Its hard to explain the finger and hand strength needed to hold a piece when buffing.
Its not hard, but if you dont have a "firm handshake" or are concerned, Gaurds are great, and needed, and you need to even try some
of the truly strongest clamps, braced in the opposite direction.
Small parts fly, like bolt heads, so face/eye gear too.

Better safe then sorry, but with a little practice, one will get the hang of it.

Just sharing the standard, "Safety first"

Bench mounted can fling a piece down to the table, or to the back, Pole mounted can send it at you.....maybe there is more
to it, but Ive always used bench mounted, with a shop vac exhaust or other hood exhaust.

OSHA does not want your glove getting caught on the edge of the bench and then instantly tearing off all your fingers.

For home use, probably the best practice is to mount the buffer pole in a 5gal bucket of cement (95 lbs), or an old tire filled with cement (120 lbs).

This can be dragged out into the driveway or garage door opening (if raining).

If a part gets away from you (and they WILL get away from you, don't kid yourself), the part can fly out onto the lawn and not hit the wall and come back at you.

If a part like a ball guide gets wrapped around the spindle, you will have room to doge (or run for your fncking life).

Just like a table saw, buffer accidents happen instantly, with absolutely no warning.

These threads always make me feel like it's a buffing wheel or my life.

It pretty much is.

Long flexible parts like stainless ball guides can get caught in the wheel cloth and instantly go flying or spin around like a razor whip.

You don't ever have time to react or take any kind of corrective action.

Just crap your pants and jump back.

Thanks. I was just about to get a buffer wheel. Now I think I won't. I'm a musician by trade, and my hands are my life. I'll use a drill buffer and be satisfied with that.

BLACK = Emery Compound, a course abrasive material for removal of scratches, pits, paint,
rust etc.
BROWN = Tripoli compound used for general purpose cut and color on most soft metals.
WHITE = Blizzard compound, used for color and final finish of harder metals, has a cutting action.
RED = Jeweller’s Rouge, designed to polish without any cutting action. Safe on thin plates. Use
on its own wheel.
BLUE = A dryer, almost greaseless wheel - designed to polish without any cutting action. Safe
on thin plates. Use on its own wheel.
GREEN = Used exclusively for Stainless Steel.

THE THREE BUFFING STAGES
A = Rough Cut To Remove Scratches
B = Final Cut & Initial Polish - At Stage B, you should first use your wheel with a cutting action, then finish with a color action.
C = Final Polish (or luster)

wheel_chart_(resized).png

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffman.htm

Thanks Vid....

Just a few differences here....We use Green Zam on many other metals,
and Red jewelers Rouge has been indicated as Cancer causing agents present......Also its a dirty waxy bitch in the ultrasonic and in cleanup.
Im not saying dont use red...just dont breath it in. Ive found a good hand pressed Green Zam or paper tubed to use as good if not better at final polish. On some rare occasions, I go green, then a quick final on red, fast.

Brown cuts fast, then white if needed, then green or red.

You rake them when they get "glazed".

Some colors of compound need their own wheel so they don't contaminate with other colors.

I keep one or more for each different compound...dont mix on the same wheel, as well as clean them with a "rake" or blade, when needed.

Mind you, I have a lifetime polishing Gold, Platinum, and some silver, and just a working knowledge doing a handfull of pins.
Those that buff rims or large stainless items, likely will have more experience and knowledge than me....Im a small parts guy with polishing.

I use green on the soft steel pop rings and it quickly brings them to full mirror.

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That's a good thing.

Rough rings will scratch up your balls, fast.

Well as long as you are making classic buffing wheel references...(6 min 45 sec mark)

Those pop rings look awesome buffed up -- I've also found that they catch easily on the wheel and go flying.

What wheels are people using with which compound? I thought you were supposed to keep a wheel specific to a compound but it looks like you can use multiple compounds on some wheels and cross-contaminate?

Also is that rake just called a buffing wheel rake or is there s more technical name? I didn't know it existed..

If some of you are worried I would start off with a low power buffing wheel and hold the parts very secure. If you start with one of the Baldor buffers before mastering the technique you could have some flying parts and digits. I have been buffing things for a lone time and once you get the feel you will buff everything in the garage.

I hold them so the ring and the wheel are parallel.

(Sorry no pic, just the best I could draw on my phone, lol)

ring-buff_(resized).jpg

For stainless, I use a "spiral sewn wheel" followed by a "loose wheel" - both with green compound.

This is what I use for 90% of my pinball parts. It's always worked great for me.

If a guide rail, side rail or other metal pinball part has scratches that need removing what's the process? Assuming the scratch is bad enough to require sanding, how far up in grit is necessary before moving on to the buffing wheel? Of course you start with the highest grit possible to remove the scratch but where do you stop sanding? 600g, 800g, higher? I ask because the last time I tried this it was a ton of work. I used a 600g and moved to the wheel.

Stainless is super soft, so 800 will probably be fine to proceed to the buffer.

If there are still scratches after the green compound on the spiral sewn wheel, you need to go back and sand them completely out, then buff again.

Sorry for dumb questions.
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Please to explain:

The difference between a grinding tool and a buffing tool. Is it basically the same motor with just whatever is mounted on there determining the function? Or are these considered to be 2 different things you should have?

Is stuff from Harbor Freight suitable for typical hobby use? Or is it better to find something more heavy-duty/professional? Maybe even used?

I believe the main difference is speed. The grinder has much higher rpm.

Would also like an educated answer to this,please
Thanks ,Mike

For a hobbyist, and small parts, HF is fine. It's a commercial low grade motor.
For large parts, or daily use, no.
From the standpoint of polishing, it's all in the prep work, before it touches the wheel.

The low cost HF stuff is ok for small pinball parts but when you start getting into bigger parts like lockdown bars the machines with the longer shafts are a must. It makes it much easier to maneuver the parts around the wheel.

ok, what is the best of the good quality buffing wheels (but also not going to cost me an arm)

I started with a HF buffer and it worked just fine. I was able to do a good job buffing my parts but it takes a bit longer than with a good machine. It does lack power. If you put to much pressure on the wheel it will bog down and stop. I built a buffer with a 1725rpm motor and its a much better experience. If you can find a used quality industrial buffer that's the way to go. The problem is a used quality buffer will be 3 x as much as a HF buffer new. Just depends on the $$$ your working with.